Blah, Basic & Boring Becomes a Beautiful Bathroom (on a budget!)

Today, I’m coming clean, about the place where I get clean. This was my very blah, basic, boring master bathroom. (Covers face with hands and hangs head in shame…)

Ick, right? Initially I wanted to do a complete gut on this bad boy, but because the space is very large (12’x16’), a full bath renovation would be super expensive, time consuming and extra messy. For those reasons, I had done absolutely nothing to this ugly 90’s space for three and a half years. Every morning and every night it was like walking into a ‘Throwback Thursday.’ Only it wasn’t always Thursday, but it was always my blah, basic, boring bathroom. The DIYer in me wanted to tackle it so badly, but because there’s so much I disliked about this bathroom I was at a loss as to where to start…

Finally, one morning while brushing my teeth, I looked around and decided I just couldn’t take one more day of looking at this space. I spit, rinsed, then turned to my husband and told him I was going to makeover the bathroom and I was going to do it on a budget. He nodded in agreement (or maybe he was just gargling.) Then I added the caveat that this did not mean we wouldn’t gut this place at a later date, but it would look a whole lot better in the meantime. He nodded again, or maybe he didn’t, but either way I was taking the plunge to beautify our master bathroom.

My first step was to figure out exactly what I was going to tackle and put a realistic budget towards it. Vanity, tile, fixtures, and countertops were all staying because this was a budget makeover after all, but basically everything else was getting a refresh. After scouring Pinterest & Houzz for inspiration and playing around in Photoshop with a picture of my ugly bathroom, I came up with a plan, a look, and a budget of just $400. Buh-bye boring bathroom!

I began by painting the walls. I went with my go-to paint brand, Sherwin Williams (no, still not sponsored.) I used one gallon of their Emerald Interior Acrylic Latex Paint Flat in the color Silverpointe . It’s quite pricy, but I loved that it had anti-mold and mildew agents. As I’ve recommended in my other posts, wait for a good sale (they run monthly promotions) and that helps reduce the cost dramatically.

Refreshing the grout. I clean the tile ALL the time and I’ve tried dozens of methods to revive the grout: Bleach pen, steam cleaner, vinegar mixtures, some fancy grout cleaning solutions that cost too much. But alas, I have white grout and it just always seems to look dingy. Until now!I found the easiest, quickest, and least stinkiest way to bring grout back to life. It’s with this pen. I did the entire bathroom – tub surround, floor, and shower in about an hour and a half. And it’s held up wonderfully so far. HIGHLY recommended!

Framing the mirror. My mirror is HUGE and very much glued to the wall. It definitely wasn’t coming down, but I was going to dress it up! By adding this moulding to the sides and top, it turned my boring builder-grade mirror into a pretty feature. I used a pre-primed, polystyrene casing that I cut to size with a miter box and hacksaw, liquid nails for adhesion, and kept it in place with painters tape until the glue fully dried. Easy peasy.

Building and hanging window cornices. I love the look of a crown moulding cornice, but they can be pretty pricey! With a few basic cuts and just $43 total, I was able to make all three. I’ll be doing a separate post on how I made these easy, inexpensive cornices. Check back soon!

Adding wainscoting to the water closet, and a “tech shelf.” The water closet was just a boring little box with a toilet. In order to add some interest, I installed some wainscoting all the way around. The small area didn’t take long or cost much for a big impact. I also added what I like to call a “tech shelf” above the toilet paper holder. Let’s be real for a moment. We all take our phones and/or tablets into the bathroom with us… entertainment for the go. Why not have a safe place to put your device down rather than put it on the floor (ew) or have it teeter off the toilet tank? I simply used a small shelf like this one and opted for a more permanent installation using my nail gun and some caulk. Ladies, your husbands will be thrilled with this little addition.

With everything in place, I added the finishing touches – decor! A tiered dessert tray for off-the-counter storage from HomeGoods, new soap pumps found on clearance also at HomeGoods, a few topiary balls scored on the cheap at Christmas Tree Shops, a 90% off basket from Michael’s, carved wall art from Target that was very on sale ($35!), some candles, towels, soaps, and other tchotchkes that I had on hand, tied some fresh eucalyptus to the shower head (if you’ve never tried taking a hot shower with fresh eucalyptus, you totally need to), and finally a pretty Safavieh rug I found for just $31 that ties it all together. (The rug is an outdoor rug, but works great in the bathroom if you do the caulk grip trick on the back of it!)

After about two weeks of work, here’s how it came out.

Remember before?

With a little DIY, I was able to transform my blah, basic, boring bathroom into a relaxing, beautiful space for under $400!

Here’s the budget breakdown:

• Paint for walls and cabinet: $65 (purchased during the Sherwin Williams 40% off sale)

Comments

Just found your site – and the kitchen and bath refresh/facelift posts are amazing. REALLY could use the How To info on those wonderful bath cornices. I’m in a 1950s house with windows in the middle of the walls. Would love to build cornices like the ones in your bath for use in my kitchen.

I just bought a house in Kentucky and need to update the bathrooms. I’m installing a claw foot bathtub in the downstairs bathroom and desperately want a chandelier over it. I’ve looked at new ones and…well, forget it. They’re too expensive. Your idea to spray paint one (all the older ones I’ve seen are in ick shape) and add the candles like you have is perfect for me since there is no lighting over the tub area in this old house I bought! Thank you for the fabulous information!!

Oh, my goodness! What a transformation! I can see why this post was one of the most viewed links at the Bouquet of Talent link party. If you run out of projects, please feel free to take on one, or a few, at my house.

You did excellent work with your bathroom renovation! It is now a beautiful, serene place!!! The important is you show us that all these can be done under a very low budget. This is going to be my feature at Sweet Inspiration Link Party #71 on 08/25/2017

YOU are amazing!!! Some people just say “Well, I guess I am stuck with this till the money tree grows in the backyard!” But for very little compared to a new bathroom remodel you made your bathroom look like a high priced remodel job. Thanks for sharing all your research and trials and errors with us. My kitchen cabinets turned out great! They were oak too and now a gorgeous BLACK! I plan on painting the bathroom cabinet also:) Just need to rest a little now and maybe a little Pinot

Shirley – thank you so much for the kind words!!! I’m so glad your kitchen cabinets came out great! I’d love to see it if you have any pictures. Let me know and I’ll email you where to send them! As far as the pinot, that’s a must. And once you’re rested don’t be afraid to take on those bathroom cabinets now that you’re a pro. The project goes SO MUCH faster only doing a few cabinets compared to a whole kitchen!

Thank you! I actually prefer that the shower enclosure blend in rather than stand out. Since I mixed metals with chrome and bronze, I was okay with leaving it as is. Ideally I’d love a frameless shower glass door, but that would have been a budget buster! 🙂